A Weasley Row
by Hidden Firecracker
Summary: Just what did Percy do to estrange himself from the family? What did he say to make Molly cry? A story of the fight that lead Percy to leave and Percy's reasons why.


A Weasley Row

By Hidden Firecracker

_Disclaimer: The Harry Potter Universe belongs to J.K. Rowling!_

I left the Ministry early for the day and hurried up the path to the front door of the Burrow, just barely a week after my siblings returned from Hogwarts for summer break. I purposely Apparated just outside the lake so I could walk and collect my excited thoughts while I planed how to reveal my well-deserved news.

I entered my house and much to my great disappointment, could not locate any of my family members.

"Hello? Family? I have ever so much important news to share? Hello?" I called, trying to sound dignified but coming off more like a five-year-old bouncing up and down, trying to get the attention of his parents so he could open birthday presents. Or something like that.

"Oh Percy, dear?" replied Mum from the kitchen. I burst into the kitchen at the sound of her call.

"Mum! Where are Dad, and the others? I have imperative news that just can't wait!" I almost whined but refrained from this childish behavior by using my dignified tone again.

"Dad has not come home from work yet, your brothers have begun a quick Quidditch match before dinner, and Ginny is off writing a letter upstairs," she said distractedly while she supervised the cooking. "Can this important news wait or do you want to tell me now?" With that, she turned her full attention to me in anticipation of my announcement.

"I was rather hoping I could tell everyone at once," I said dejectedly. "I'll just wait until dinner comes around. Can I help you with anything?" I have always been Mum's little helper and I knew that she depended on me. After all, someone needed to be responsible for the family and help out. Life couldn't be all Quidditch and love letters, or whatever Ginny was up to.

"You may set the table," she said. I could tell she sensed my disappointment and did want to hear the news for herself, but I wanted to get everyone's reactions at once. I settled for chatting and assisting her with the bangers until everyone sat down for dinner an hour later. I cleared my throat when they had settled down and tucked in.

"Everyone, now that you are all here, I have some particularly rousing news to tell. This really comes as quite a shock, but a welcome surprise to be sure. This is actually an honor and a wonderful opportunity and I hope you'll be happy for me," I rambled on importantly.

"Hey, Perce!" interjected my charming brother George with a mouth full of food. "Spit out already, I can't hold in my excitement anymore, I must know!" he said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Yeah, plus we already know that everything you do is important and an honor!" joked my equally as delightful brother Fred.

"Anyway," Percy began again with a glare at the twins' sarcasm, "Mr. Fudge has offered me a junior-assistant position to the Minister, working underneath Minister Fudge himself. Imagine the prestige and responsibility; perhaps he is grooming me to be a future Minister of Magic one day. One can only assume why he picked me, but hard work must pay off, and it was good of him to notice it and…"

"Uh, son," cut in his Dad mildly, "are you sure there is not any other reason besides your hard work that Minister Fudge would want you working so close to him? I understand this could be a wonderful opportunity, but considering everything going on in the Ministry, are there some other implications here?"

"Dad, you don't honestly believe the extent of all the rumors going around? Some people just need to feel more important, so they use their prestigious name to try and rile up the rest of the world. Mr. Fudge recognizes that," I replied huffily. Why couldn't everyone just stand up, give me a hug, congratulate me, and praise my good luck?

"Percy, what makes you think the rumors may not be true? Surely there are some compelling arguments and evidence that the Minsitry should pay attention to," Dad replied steadily.

What was his Dad playing at, I wondered? Didn't he know these were sensitive, top-secret Ministry "rumors?" He would give this information away freely to the rest of the family who had not earned a Ministry spot? Well two would have to play at this game. I wanted to make them understand and appreciate my new position.

"Oh Dad, you're not honestly going to tell me that this compelling evidence is all that extensive. We only have the word of Harry Potter, and, uh, even that may not be, uh, fully…reliable," I countered. I hit a sensitive chord in my Potter-loving family.

"Hey now, you don't know what Harry has been through. Every year of his wizard life, he has battled some new form of You-Know-Who. He doesn't lie…if you had seen him in that hospital wing…I mean….think Perce! You love him just as much as the next wizard. He stays at the Burrow all the time. You know him too!" retorted an upset Ron. I could have sworn that I heard him mutter "prat" underneath his breath, but I chose to ignore it.

"Well," said Percy huffily, "no one can be one hundred percent sure of this because no one was there, not even you. The Ministry has cleared the names he gave of the people who were there long ago. They have no reason to be suspected. The plain and simple fact is that Minister Fudge hired me because I can see reality from hero-worshiping fantasy. Now Ron, I know you think you know Harry Potter, but truth be told, you do not. It's time you realized he is nothing more than an attention seeking and mentally disturbed little boy whose "Boy Who Lived" novelty act is wearing out and is only trying to grasp onto the spotlight." Ron turned a shade of deep red and violently stood up.

"Wake up Percy, you're too stupid and _important_ to realize that these things are happening. You-Know-Who is back and your _genius_ can't stop it. And quit knocking on Harry- you were in the same house at Hogwarts for crying out loud, you know the real him. He is not deranged!" spat Ron.

"You can't deny that he's back," chimed in Ginny. "It won't help the problem. Ron is right, quit being so full of your own world and wake up," she said with an air of disdain.

"Ron," Percy sighed, "Harry Potter is a liar, and I can't have you running around with that riff-raff anymore. It further degrades the family name which dad drags through the mud at the Ministry with his Muggle obsessions. It's an embarrassment to the family when you all defend a liar. Besides, "The Daily Prophet," our most trusted news source, gave a full testimony of this whole affair." At this remark Mum gave a small gasp, Dad looked up sharply, Ginny held Ron back while shooting her own murderous glare, and the twins, in their element, prepared to battle. They all spoke at once:

"I'll just hex you into the next life for that little comment, oh brother of mine," said Fred.

"After you're in that next life, I'll hex you to the one after that," said George. "You, see, Fred and I have a vested interest in Harry, and we will not tolerate derogatory lies about him," he said coolly.

"Nor will we tolerate any nasty comments about Dad and especially about our family," completed Fred.

"Bloody hell!" shouted Ron

"Harry has never done anything to you, Percy! He's the one who saved me my 1st year! Are you calling me a liar too!" cried Ginny.

"Rita Skeeter is a cow, anyways," Ron muttered more quietly.

"How could you say that about Dad! He's never done anything evil, which is more than I can say about you for not believing the truth!" cried Ginny.

Ron continued to yell at me with more explicatives that made Mum sharply reprimand him before turning toward me.

"Percy! After all that your father has done for this family, after everything we do for you!" Mum spat each word, enunciating each syllable for effect. "You go and insult the family name and…and…I won't hear of it. She took a deep breath and started speaking more gently, or what I suppose she thought should be more soothing. Now, I forbid you to take that job if this is the person you will turn into. You are a Weasley first and foremost…" she was cut off of the beginnings of a great tirade when I spoke up.

"Now wait a minute, everybody! I wanted to share with you good news and you put me on trial here! I am only defending the official Ministry position and telling the truth-something Dad ought to try as he works for the Ministry and could stand to have a more favorable position in the eyes of his superiors. If you can't understand this, maybe I don't want to associate myself with this ignorant, intolerable family anymore!" I yelled with a flourish.

Mum looked as if she wanted to burst into tears, Ginny gasped and paled, Ron turned maroon, Fred and George drew their wands, but Dad only took a small sip of tea. Before everyone could begin replying, Dad cut in with this dangerously quiet and calm voice that immediately quieted the room.

"Children, I believe Percy and I need to speak alone now. Please leave the kitchen," he said evenly.

"But Dad, I'm not done eating…" "I want to hear this!" "He made Mum cry!" "He hates us! And Harry!" "Beat sense into him, Dad." "That prat won't listen anyway." Came the varied shouts of my flesh and blood.

"Silence, children. Take your food and eat it elsewhere. Fred, George, no listening in with any of your inventions." Everyone glared in my direction and left the room. I could hear the twins muttering something about needing to invent something to listen into conversations. Meanwhile, Mum sobbed silently in her chair. I didn't mean to hurt her, but the truth hurts sometimes.

"Molly, dear, perhaps you should leave for this. We can all talk later, but you should calm down first," he said calmly. He helped Mum up and escorted her out of the kitchen. I stood there dumbfounded at the explosion of events.

Dad walked back into the kitchen with an expressionless face. He looked at me for what seemed like an hour and then spoke in that same quiet and calm tone.

"You may sit there, Percy," he said. "What you said to your mother and this family tonight was completely out of line and not like the boy that we raised at all. Your obligation to this family comes first, and always has. You have always helped our family so much and I know that you understand this. Now, regardless of what you think is going on in this world, Cornelius Fudge wants you close to him because you are the best link he has to our family, who he suspects, as you say, of helping to try and rile up our world…" He sounded like he was trying to reason with a rebel 10-year-old and not with a professional and a top graduate of Hogwarts.

"Father, really," I tired to interject, but he only prevented me from defending myself by raising his right hand off of his knee and speaking.

"Percy, you will listen first. You will not interrupt me. You will sit there until we are through. You will properly apologize to your mother and family when this if over," he said sternly. I nodded mutely. What choice did I have?

"As I was saying, there are things going on right now that very few people believe, but they are true." I opened my mouth to counter that lie but Dad stopped me. "Do not speak until I am done. These things are true because Dumbledore would not see fit to mobilize and organize the type of operation he is about to undertake if he did not see reason for it. We have solid evidence and a solid set of circumstances that tell us that. Even if You-Know-Who's presence is not confirmed, we have legitimate reason to start preparing for it.

"This family supports the promotion of good and destruction of evil. We have fought and will fight against this threat. That is what keeps us our good name-that and our moral character, and ability to be who we truly are. I hope that you will see yourself as one of these people and apart of our family, and not as someone who blindly follows one man. Now, let me tell you something. Fudge is scared. He is in denial." I tried to open my mouth, but Dad cut me off again. "Do not talk. He is afraid that his position will be compromised by the situation, and he is in it for the power, not the responsibility.

"He is so afraid, that he is checking all employees for connections to Dumbledore. You know what he will do if such connections are found. He will fire us. This will be to the detriment of our cause. The Ministry will lose all those not scared to fight against You-Know-Who. Now, are you willing to let your beloved Ministry crumble because of this?" he finished his little speech still calmly, yet oh so firmly.

"Dad! You're completely loony! Insane and blind! Mr. Fudge is right you know, Dumbledore wants trouble and to insight fear. He has no reason to do it. No one but Potter has actually seen him return, and you can't trust Potter!" I spoke as forcefully as I could. Dad's voice rose.

"Has Dumbledore ever lied or given the impression he would lie. He is the most powerful wizard of our time, not Fudge. He is most feared by You-Know-Who, not Fudge."

"Just shove it, Dad! I CAN'T BELIEVE you would do this to me! I try to be the good son, the only one with reason, the only one of your 7 children to grow up with responsibility and ambition and goals, and YOU CALL ME A LIAR FOR IT. It's you who did not raise them right because of your far-fetched troublemaking views!" Now I was practically yelling.

"Percy! You WILL NOT bring my childrearing methods into this. This is about me, you and Fudge, and the lies within the ministry! You are making me believe that YOU were the one brought up wrong." We were both fuming.

"Maybe I was! But I'm doing something about it now! I'm showing _my_ loyalty to the Ministry and _our_ world. I won't turn my back on that, like some people. I denounce Dumbledore and the likes of anyone who associates with him. I DON'T CARE what you do anymore, but I won't be apart of it. I HATE IT AND I HATE THIS FAMILY."

"Boy, didn't you hear any of what we have told you tonight. WAKE UP AND QUIT IGNORING REALITY. You are inadvertently supporting the evil that You-Know-Who is spreading and promoting. That's what _your _Ministry is doing. That's what _you_ are doing. Stepping aside and letting evil parade in, in fact, YOU'RE INVITING IT!" I'd never seen dad behave in quite this manner, sparks seemed to fly and his hair stood on end. He couldn't seem to string together a coherent thought.

"THERE IS NO EVIL!" I roared, "You just want me under your control, to think what you want me to, but I won't anymore! I'M NOT A CHILD, I'm the smartest the likes of this family has seen, and I WILL succeed and make money and NOT MAKE _MY_ future family grow up just a step above poverty!" By this time, all pretenses of civility had fallen. Our control was lost in a flurry of heated shouts and words.

"I'VE NEVER PUT ANYTHING ABOVE SUPPORTING THIS FAMILY AND BEING TRUE TO MY BELIEFS, THE RIGHT BELIEFS, AND NO CHILD OF MINE WILL EVER DISPUTE THAT!"

"SUPPORT? IS THAT WHAT YOU CALL THAT? YOU DON'T KNOW THE FIRST THING ABOUT LOYALTY. WHAT'S MORE, I HAVE HAD TO GO THROUGH MORE BARRIERS AND RED TAPE IN THE MINISTRY BECAUSE OF YOUR DISLOYAL, MUGGLE-LOVING, LOUSY REPUTATION THAT FOLLOWS ME BY ASSOCIATION!"

"YOU DON'T KNOW THE FIRST THING ABOUT LOYALTY, BOY! BEING SMART IS NOT JUDGED BY GRADES, SCHOOL BADGES AND MINISTRY POSITIONS GIVEN OUT JUST TO USE YOU AS A SPY! INTELLIGENCE IS KNOWING HOW TO CONTRIBUTE TO SOCIETY!"

"AND I DO! THAT'S WHAT I AM DOING NOW, BY DISASSOCIATING MYSELF WITH THIS FAMILY AND ALL IT STANDS FOR!"

"YOU DON'T KNOW THE FIRST THING ABOUT FAMILY, EITHER. IS THAT WHY WE HAVN'T HEARD FROM YOUR GIRLFRIEND IN A WHILE? SHE KNOWS YOU HAVE NO SENSE, AND THAT YOUR HEART IS NOT IN THE RIGHT PLACE." Dad hit a nerve with that one.

"WHAT NERVE! THAT'S MY PERSONAL BUSINESS! I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW YOU INSULT ME, FIRST MY PERSONAL LIFE, THEN BY CALLING ME A LIAR! HARRY POTTER IS DERRANGED. THE DAILY PROPHET IS A CREDIBLE SOURCE AND WOULD NOT REPORT MISFACTS. YOU CAN'T USE THAT AS THE ONLY EVIDENCE FOR DEFYING THE MINISTRY."

"YOU LEAVE HARRY OUT OF THIS! I TURST HIS WORD, YOUR BROTHERS, MOTHER AND SISTER TRUST HIS WORD, AND DUMBLEDORE TRUSTS HIS WORD. THAT SHOULD BE ENOUGH FOR ANYONE!"

"I NEVER WOULD LEARN ANYTHING ABOUT FAMILY HERE! I DON'T LIKE THE WAY YOU RUN YOURS! MY LOYALTY LIES WITH THE MINISTY AND SINCE IT IS NOT UNDERSTOOD HERE, I AM LEAVING!" With that, Dad hurtled his chair aside and I jutted my chin up at him defiantly. I never would have thought that Dad could do something like that, but then again, I suppose he was trying to get me to see his light, just as I was trying to make him understand where I am coming from.

"YOU ARE FORBIDDEN TO LEAVE THIS HOUSE OR TO TAKE THAT JOB." He roared as the chair hit the kitchen counter.

"TRY AND STOP ME. I WON'T TELL MR. FUDGE THAT YOU ARE IN

LEAGUE WITH DUMBLEDORE IF THAT SUITS YOU. I UNDERSTAND THAT

YOU ARE CONFUSED. BUT I'LL BE WAITING AT THE END WITH ONE BIG

'I TOLD YOU SO.'"

"PERCY!" he practically bellowed.

"I'M GONE. I'LL BE IN LONDON. TELL MUM I'M SORRY, AND TELL MY SIBLINGS THAT IF THEY WANT TO FOLLOW THE RIGHT PATH, I'M THERE FOR THEM, UNLIKE YOU." With that, I Apparated upstairs, performed the charm to pack all of my things, and prepared to Disapparate to London.

The thought of leaving my distressed and oblivious family troubled me, but I had to keep loyal to the Ministry. Penny would understand, if she still cared. She too will come around one day, just like my family will.

I do not work too much and I do not care more about my career than anything else. I _do _care about making myself a better person. I want to be someone I can be proud of and someone my future family can be proud of. I want my future family to be well taken care of and I want to come back and take care of my misguided family sitting downstairs as I pack. I want history to remember that I did something to make Wizarding life better, the same way they celebrate Harry Potter.

This opportunity to work with Minister Fudge can help me achieve all of this and more, but why won't my family come to terms with this? Wizarding life will not advance if all the most brilliant minds are preoccupied with a rumor. That is why I have to go. These thoughts I will never share with anyone else, but I know that when I conquer all of these goals, that my family will then appreciate what I am doing today. I picked up my suitcase and my owl and Apparated to London.

It's time to begin my new life.

_A/N: Thank you all for reading and any constructive advice would be appreciated. I had a blast writing this and trying to get into the mind of the infamous Percy. I know that one day he will come around…one day soon…_

_Thank you little B for the title of this little row and for helping me research the appropriate information needed to do this chapter. _


End file.
